Cloth drying and spreading machine



April 16, 1935. B, A. PARKES CLOTH DRYING AND SPREADING MACHINE Filed Nov. 2, 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet g INVENTOR \Illlllllllllllll I ll" Ill April 16, 1935. B. A. PARKES 1,997,696

CLOTH DRYING AND SPREADING MACHINE Filed Nov. 2, 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY April 16, 1935. B. A. PARKES CLOTH DRYING AND SPREADING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed 1.933

April 16, 1935. B. A. PARKES CLOTH DRYING AND SPREADING MACHINE Filed Nov. 2, 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 I g k 0 PF? 4 x m& -M

Patented Aprw16, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1,997,696 CLOTH DRYING AND SPREADING MACHINE Bertrand A. Parkes, Philadelphia, Pa. Application November 2, .1933, Serial No. 696,304 11 Claims. (o1. 2s-54 ing media and which also includes means for efiectively spreading the cloth during its progress through the drying chamber of said machine to eliminate any wrinkles or irregularities which may form in the wet cloth while it is fed into the machine.

My invention still further relates to a spreading and drying machine which includes means for effecting a. gradual, progressive spreading of the cloth on one face thereof in combination with means for producing successive, repeated spreading actions on thaother face of the cloth, both of these spreading {actions being effected automatically and witho t any attention on the part of the operator or any attention for special adjustment of the mac ine.

v'I'o the above ends, my invention consists of a cloth-drying machine comprising the necessary frame work for supporting a drying chamber through which thecloth is adapted to pass, means for propelling the cloth through the machine, means for directing a heating medium against the cloth to be dried, telescoping poles for supporting loops of the cloth during its progress through the machine, means for effecting gradual expansion of each of said poles as it passes through the drying chamber, means for collapsing or contracting said poles after their exit from the drying chamber, and means suspended above the poles supporting the loops of' cloth in the drying chamber for exerting repeated spreading action on the upper surface of the loops of cloth supported on said poles.

In the accompanying drawingsi Fig. 1 represents a diagrammati( v'iew partly in section and partly in elevation taken generally alongthe line l| of Fig. 2 showing a drying machine embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 represents a, diagrammatic view partly in section and partly in elevation taken generally along the line 2-2of Fig. 1.

Fig. 2A represents a fragmentary diagrammatic view partly in section and partly in elevation taken along the line 2A-2A of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 represents on an enlarged scale a diagrammatic view partly in section and partly in elevation taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 represents a view partly in section and ,partly in elevation on lines 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 represents a diagrammatic fragmentary view partly in section and partly in elevation on line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5A represents'a section on line 5A-5A of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 represents a fragmentary diagrammatic 5 view partly in elevation and partly in section on line 6-6 of Fig 3. i

Fig. 7 represents a'vertical sectional view on line'l-l of Fig. 4.

Fig. 8 represents a side elevation of the details 10 of construction of one of the stretching devices illustrated in Fig. 3.

' Fig. 9 represents a fragmentary view partly in elevation and partly in section of one of the telescoping poles illustrating the means of col- 15 lapsing or contracting said poles from the expanded position.

Fig. 10 represents a fragmentary diagrammatic view of a modified form of telescoping pole showing further means for expanding the pole.

.11 is a view similar to Fig. 10 showing means for collapsing or contracting the modified form of construction shown in Fig. '10.

Fig. 12 shows a still further modified fomi of the telescoping pole with means for expanding 25 said pole.

Fig. 13 represents a fragmentary plan view of the pole shown in Fig. 12 illustrating details of construction.

Fig. 14 represents a section on line 14- of 30 Fig. 12.

Fig. '15 represents a still further modified form of the telescoping pole.

Fig. 16 represents on an enlarged scale a section on line lG-IS of Fig. 15.

Fig. 17 represents a fragmentary sectional view on an enlarged scale showing details of construction of the modified form shown in Figs. 15 and 16.

Fig. 18 represents a section on line l8-l8 of 40 Fig. 16.

, Referring to the drawings in which like reference characters designate like parts, my drying machine comprises a suitable frame work or .acter and which are not shown, since they are well known to persons skilled in the art and do not form a part of the present invention, it being suflicient to state that the heating medium developed in the chamber 3 is directed into the drying chamber'l through which the cloth I to be dried progresses in the form of loops 5 carried on poles 8 which in turn are carried at their ends by a continuous sprocket chain or the like I which travels endlessly over the sprocket wheels 8, 9, l8 and II to make a complete journey through the drying machine, the cloth 4 being fed in the direction of the arrow |2 by means of any suitable feeding rolls l4 and emerging in the direction of the arrow l8 over any suitable delivery rolls I! on to a platform or the like |8. The parts thus far described, together with the heating and blowing or other drying media to dehydrate the loops 5 of the cloth 4 are, as stated. conventional and form no part of the present invention. Hence it is not deemed necessary to illustrate or describe them in further detail.

In order to subject the upper surfaces of the loops 8 of the cloth to one or more spreading actions, before its entry into and during its progress through the drying chamber, I position one (or more) of my novel spreadingdevices 28 in advance of the drying chamber 2 and one or more such spreading devices 2| and 22 suitably spaced within the drying chamber 2 as diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 1. The spreading devices 20, 2| and 22, etc., as will be seen in Fig. 3, are suspended from a cross bar or other supporting member 25 suitably secured to the side walls or frame work of the drying machine. Each of the spreading units consists of a flexible member 28 preferably doubled upon itself and provided with a weight 28, as shown in Fig. 8, said flexible member being fastened at 38 to the arms 3| which in turn are pivoted at 32 to the supporting member 25 to render said flexible members 28 movable in either direction on the pivots 32. 34 represents a shaft rotatable in the bearings 35 and carrying fast the cams 38. To one or both ends of the shaft 34 is rigidly secured the arm 31 which normallyrides on the shaft 38 of the poles 8 so that as each pole progresses through the drying chamber in the direction of the arrow 48 in Fig. 1 the shaft 38 will serve to trip the arm 31 thus rotating the shaft 34 in a counter-clockwise direction to force or wedge the tapered ends of the cams 38 between the cross links 42 and 44 which are provided with the curved edges 45 (to facilitate entry of the wedge or cam 38 therebetween) and which are carried by the juxtaposed arms 3| which support adjacent spreading units 20, 2| and 22, etc., as shown in Fig. 3. From this construction it willbe seen that each pole 8 as it progresses through the machine, both before and after it enters the drying chamber 2, will pass under one or more of the spreading units 28, 2| and 22 and that each pole 8 serves to actuate each spreading unit as it arrives under it successively by the tripping of the lever 31 by meansof the shaft 38 which carries the pole 8 to turn the shaft 34 which carries the wedges 38 to force said wedges between the cross links 42 and 44 and thus to push the adjacent spreading units which carry the cross links acted upon by the cam 38 in opposite directions, as shown by the arrows 48 and 48 in Fig. 3. As the spreading units 20, 2| and 22, etc., are thus actuated in opposite di rections by the means just described the weighted flexible members 28 thereof bear upon the cloth loop 5 carried by the pole on which they act to effect a wiping action on the cloth outwardly from the center thereof towards the edges. In Fig. 3,- I have shown a pole adapted for supporting two widths of cloth simultaneously and in this construction the left hand pair of spreading units will act on one piece of goods while the right hand.

pair of spreading units will act on another piece of goods. In this connection, it is pointed out that this construction is adapted to the drying and spreading of any number of pieces or rolls of goods by merely duplicating the pairs of units referred to and by correspondingly altering the construction of the pole which supports the cloth rolls on which the spreading units described are adapted to act.

In order to subject the underside of the cloth loop 5 to a spreading action, I employ expanding poles 8 of the construction shown in Fig. 3, from which it will be seen that each pole 8 comprises the supporting shaft 38 hereinabove referred to, which is secured at its ends to the chain 1 which travels as at 58 on'the supporting bracket 8| carried by the frame of the machine. On the shaft 38 revolves the pipe 54 which carries fast the wooden covering 55 and the cog-wheels 58 which are adapted to engage the racks 51 on the brackets 58 carried by the frame of the machine. This gives the pole 8 a rotary motion on the shaft 38 while the latter progresses horizontally through the machine with the progress of the chain I over the sprockets 8, 8, l8 and II. In order to prevent loose rotation of the pole 8 on the shaft 38, one (or both) of the cog-wheels 58 is provided with the flat spring 88 pivoted at 8| and confined between the stop 8| and the shaft 38, as best illustrated in Fig. 6. Still referring to the construction disclosed in Fig. 3, it will be seen that each pole is formed of a central relatively large section 82 and two end relatively smaller sections 84 and 88, the sections 84 and 88 being provided with tongues 88 which engage corresponding openings 89 in the opposite ends of the central section 82, as best shown in Fig. 4. The pipe 54 surrounding the shaft 38 is also formed of three pieces to correspond to the sections 82, 84 and 88 of the wooden covering 55, also as shown. The central section permitted rotary movement on the shaft 38 by means of the pin 10 which pwses through the corresponding section of the pipe 54 and which engages a groove or keyway II in the shaft 38, as best seen in Figs. 4 and 7. In order to be able to expand the pole shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the end sections 84 and 88 are moved away from the central section 82 in the direction of the arrows 12 in Fig. 4 by means of the guide tracks 14 engaging the cog-wheels 58 at either end of the pole, said tracks being gradually narrowed from the delivery end to the inlet end of the drying chamber, as best shown in Fig. 2. In other words, as the pole 8 enters the drying chamber 2 the cogwheels 58 thereof are engaged by the tracks 14 at their narrowest point so that as the tracks 14 widen or become further apart towards the delivery end of the drying chamber the cog-wheels 58 carried by the end sections 84 and 88 are spread further apart, thus gradually and progressively spacing the sections 84 and 88 from the central section 82 and thus lengthening the overall length of the pole. Thus the pole is shortest when it enters the machine and reaches its maximum length at the end of its travel in the drying chamber 2 and this results in exerting a very gradual spreading action against the under-surface of the loop of cloth 8 carried by the pole as it progresses through the drying chamber. In order to bring this out more clearly in Fig. 2, I have designated the distance between the tracks 14 at the feeding end of the drying chamber 2 as :n and have designated the distance between the tracks 14 at the exit or delivery end of the drying A0 82 is fastened against lateral movement but is chamber as :c+y. In order to collapseor contract the polethus stretched or expanded during its progress in the drying chamber 2, I have, as shown in Fig. 2A provided corresponding guide tracks l9 positioned at the bottom right hand corets 9 and I9 it enters between the guide tracks 19 at their widest point, designated .r", and as the pole progresses in its return journey through the bottom of the machine to pass over the sprockets I I and 9 it passes through the guide tracks 16 and emerges from said tracks at their narrowest point; :cy, thus collapsing the pole from the open expanded position shown at the right hand end of Fig. 2A to the collapsed or contracted positionshown at the left hand end of Fig. 2A, in which position the pole again receives a loop of cloth and enters the drying chamber at the feed end thereof, again to be expanded by the gradually widening guide tracks I4 until it leaves the drying chamber at the delivery end thereof. From this it will be seen that each pole is expanded or stretched progressivelyduring its travel through the drying chamber and is contracted or collapsed at the bottom of the machine. Inasmuch as it is necessary to effect a gradual expansion or stretching of the pole, the guide tracks 14 diverge very gradually, and, inasmuch as there is rio necessity for any gradual collapsing or contracting of the poles, it will be seen that the return guide tracks I6 converge to the necessary extent over a very short distance.

Fig. 9 illustrates the manner in which the contracting or collapsing guide tracks I9 engage the wheels 56 on the pole during its retumioumey at the bottom of the machine.

In Fig. 10, I have shown a modified form of construction of a pole which in its internal construction is the same as that shown in Fig. 4, except that this pole is formed of four sections 99, 9|, 92 and 99, preferably of equal size, the sections 99 and 92 being pulled outwardly in the direction of the arrows 99 by the guide tracks I4 (in Fig. 4)

and being pushed inwardly towards the center in the direction of the arrows 96 by the guide In this construction the the direction of the arrows 91 by having flanges 99 which engage a tapered guide track 99 and are pushed apart in the direction of the arrows 99 by engagement of .the flanges 99 with oppositely tapered guide tracks 92, it being understood that the movement of the sections 99 and 99 in the direction of the arrows 99 and the sections 9| and 92in the direction of the arrows 91 takes place gradually while the pole is traveling through the drying chamber 2 from the inlet to the outlet end thereof. The movement of the section 82 in the direction of the arrow 91 and of the section "in the direction of the arrow 95 serves to spread or stretch a piece of goods draped thereon v and the same is true of the sections 99 and 9|.

described in connection with Fig. A. The guide tracks 99 and 92 are suitably ured to any part of the frame of the machine m a position to engage the flanges as of the middlesections u In Fig. 12, I have shown a still further modified form of my invention in which I use a pole 9 4. of a cross section other than round, the pole 94 being secured to a bracket 99 which is at its ends connected to the chain 1 which carries the pole forwardly through the drying chamber 2 in the manner already described in connection with Fig. 1.

In this construction the end sections 99 and 99 of the pole are provided with flanges I99 which engage tapering-guide tracks I92 which serve gradually to pull the sections 99 and 99 away from the stationary or fixed central section I94, it being understood that other narrowing guide tracks corresponding to the guide tracks 19 in Fig. 2A are positioned at the bottom of the machine to act on the sections 99 and 99 to push them towards the center fixed section I94 to contract the pole in the same manner illustrated in connection with Figs. 2A, 9 and 11. The sections 99' and 99 have a tongue and groove connection I99 corresponding to the tongue and groove connection 99 and 69 in Fig. 4 and the sections of the pole proper 94 are secured to the supporting bracket 99 by means of pins or the like I99 which I struction the pole does not revolve and .simply progresses through the drying chamber 2 and is gradually elongated during its progress through the drying chamber by the pulling away of the sections 98 and 99 from the center section I94, the pulling away of the sections 99 and 99 from the cente: section I94 serving to spread or stretch the cloth draped thereover.

In Figs. 15 and 16, I have shown a still further modified form of my invention in which the shaft 39 has rotatable thereon the pipe sections H9 and H5, each of which carries a pole section 9 and III; The pole construction proper is formed of two semi-cylindrical parts I18 and I69 which are suitably clamped together with the juxtaposed ends or the upper section II9 of each of the sections H6 and- I I1 overlapping the corresponding edges of the lower sections M9, as

, shown inFig. 16. On the shaft 38 is mounted a cam I29, so that as the pole rotates over the shaft 38 the edges I22 of the upper half II9 of the pole sections II6 and Ill ride on the cam and hence are pushed apart in the direction of the arrows I24 to elongate the pole and spread the godds draped thereover. When the pole has completed one-half of a revolution and the edges I22 have dropped off the cam. I29 the springs I29 will at once push the sections H6 and I" together. In this construction the upper section N9 of the pole begins to expand just as it begins to receive -a loop 9, and when in its rotation it has reached a point where said loop begins to, rest on the lower fixed constant section 9 the edges I22 slide off the cam I29 and the sections H9 and III are brought together by action of the springs I29 at the outer ends or the sections H6 and III. The sections H9 and III begin to expand again as in the rotation of the pole they again come into posi-' tion to support the loop 5 of the cloth 4. In this. 7

construction the pole has an expanding and'contracting action with each rotation thereof. thus subjecting the goods draped thereover to repeated spreading actions during its progress through the drying chamber 2.

What I claim:

1. The combination with a drying machine, comprising a frame and a drying chamber adapted to receive the cloth to be dried, of sectional telescoping poles constituting the sole support of said cloth and travelling through said drying chamber, and means for expanding said poles during their progress through said drying chamber whereby the frictional engagement of said cloth with said pole serves to spread the cloth draped thereon during the drying operation.

2. The combination with a drying machine, comprising a frame and a drying chamber adapted to receive the cloth to be dried, of sectional telescoping poles constituting the sole support of said cloth and travelling through said drying chamber, means for expanding said poles during their progress through said drying chamber to spread the cloth draped thereon during the drying operation, and means outside of said drying chamber for contracting said poles after the cloth has been removed therefrom.

3. The combination with a drying machine, including a frame, a drying chamber and cloth supporting devices adapted to travel through said drying chamber, of spreading devices suspended from said frame above said cloth supporting devices and bearing upon said cloth, and means for actuating said spreading devices in opposite directions to effect a wiping action in opposite directions on the contiguous surface of said cloth.

4. The combination with a drying machine, comprising a frame, and a drying chamber, of sectional expandable poles constituting the sole support of the cloth to be dried and travelling through said drying chamber, means carried by said frame for expanding said poles, during their progress through said drying chamber to spread the cloth draped thereon during the drying operation, and means for contracting said poles.

5. The combination with a drying machine, comprising a frame and a drying chamber, of expandable poles adapted to support the cloth to be dried and to travel through said drying chamber, means for expanding said poles during their travel in said drying chamber to exert a spreading action on the contiguous surface of the cloth draped thereon, means for contracting said poles when said poles are not in engagement with the cloth, spreading devices suspended above said poles and adapted to bear upon the other surface of the cloth draped on said poles, and means for actuating said spreading devices in opposite directions to exert a wiping action on the corresponding surface of said cloth.

6. The combination with a drying machine,

comprising a frame and a drying chamber, of expandable poles adapted to support the cloth to be dried and to travel through said drying chamber, means for expanding said poles during their travel in said drying chamber to exert a spreading action on the contiguous surface of .the cloth draped thereon, means for contracting said poles when said poles are not in engagement with the cloth, spreading devices suspended above said poles and adapted to bear upon the other surface of the cloth draped on said poles, and means for actuating said spreading devicesin opposite di-' rections to exert a wiping action on the corresponding surface of said cloth, said spreading devices being adapted to resume their normal position intermittently with the progress of the cloth supporting poles thereunder.

7. In a drying machine a sectional expandable pole adapted to constitute the sole support of the cloth to be dried, means for propelling said pole through said machine and means for expanding said pole simultaneous with the progress thereof.

8. In a drying machine a sectional expandable rotary pole adapted to constitute the sole support of the cloth to be dried, means for propelling said pole through said machine and means for expanding said pole simultaneous with the progress thereof.

9. In a drying machine a sectional expandable pole constituting the sole support of the cloth to be dried, means for propelling said pole through said machine, means for expanding said pole during its movement through the machine in one direction whereby the frictional contact of the expanding pole and the cloth draped thereon serves to spread the latter, and means for contracting said pole after its disengagement with said cloth.

10. In a drying machine the combination of expandable sectional poles adapted to support the cloth to be dried, means for expanding said poles to spread the cloth draped thereon, wipers suspended above said poles in contact with the upper surface of said cloth, and means for actuating said wipers to effect a wiping action in opposite directions on the upper surface of said cloth.

11. In a drying machine a sectional expandable pole supporting the cloth to be dried, means for propelling said pole through said machine and means for expanding said pole while supporting the cloth and progressing through the drying machine, whereby the frictional contact of the ex panding pole with the under surface of the cloth supported thereby effects a spreading action on said cloth to remove wrinkles therefrom.

BER'IRAND A. PARKES. 

